Library Updates

Announcements

Library services for alumni: help us spread the word

As we end another academic year, the UT Health Science Center librarians and staff want to congratulate the new graduates and to wish them good luck in their future endeavors. We also want to remind everyone that Health Science Center alumni may continue to use many library resources after graduation.

Alumni must register in person at the Briscoe Library Circulation Desk or at the Ramirez or Laredo Regional Campus Libraries. There is no cost to register but registration must be renewed annually. Alumni may check out up to three items at a time, generally for up to two weeks, and items may be renewed online up to two times.

Due to licensing agreements and contracts, remote or off-campus access to electronic resources is available only to currently employed faculty and staff, and currently enrolled students. Alumni with professional hospital affiliations should contact their hospital librarians, systems or education staff for details on access to databases, journals or books for staff use.

On-site access to Health Science Center library databases and to print and online resources is available to all. Free computers are provided in the libraries for access to the Internet and other electronic resources for health-related research. Alumni receive a Patron ID to use library computers and can add unlimited minutes per day to their Patron account.

The Libraries offer reference services and classes at no charge. Fee-based literature search services by our expert librarians may be requested, and practicing health professionals in South Texas may request articles for a fee through the ILLiad system.

Major gift will enhance archives program

Virginia Bowden, PhD, and Charles Bowden, MD recently made a gift in support of the University Archives and other special collections.

Bowden, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry and pharmacology, will enhance the development of the UT Health Science Center University Archives. As a repository for the preservation of historically important university records, the archives house university publications, correspondence of key UT Health Science Center officials, minutes of meetings, and student yearbooks. The archives also include photographs and papers of many early San Antonio physicians.

In the past the archives have been used to research the history of the UT Health Science Center for publications and exhibit materials, genealogy searches, photographs, resources for classes in the history of medicine and anatomical drawing and for many other purposes. Current archives projects include development of a digital collection of important materials in the archives, processing of photographs and negatives received from Academic Technology Services and the Ruth Stewart nursing archives scrapbooks, and the creation of finding aids available via the Internet for manuscript collections of prominent San Antonio physicians. Photographs and personal papers of Dr. Mario E. Ramirez, donated to the Ramirez Library at the RAHC in Harlingen, are being processed and digitized to tell the story of Dr. Ramirez’s career as a physician in the Rio Grande Valley. Of particular note is Dr. Ramirez’s collection of photos taken during the devastation wrought by Hurricane Beulah in 1967. These are only some of the projects in progress through the University Archives.

In addition to the Bowdens’ gift, The Libraries were recently awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities to improve the library’s preservation practices. See the related article on page 3.

The archives are managed by Anne Comeaux, Assistant Library Director for Digital and Special Collections. Ms. Comeaux also serves as the UT Health Science Center’s Records Management Officer and frequently consults with departments on the types of records that must be retained, including archival records.

The Bowdens’ commitment to enhancing the Health Science Center’s library will ensure that the archives continue to provide important materials for historical research into the future.

For additional information about the archives, including guidelines for submitting documents and other materials, contact Anne Comeaux at 210-567-2428 or via email at comeaux@uthscsa.edu.

For the second year in a row, librarians at the UT Health Science Center have been the recipients of the CTSA Community Engagement Award from the South Central Region (SCR) of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM). The $15,000 award is given to librarians at a regional institution in the SCR that is a recipient of an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). Initiated in 2012, the award seeks to assist in the development of community engagement projects that identify and promote the role of librarians working in partnership with researchers at CTSA institutions.

As a result of the award, librarians at the Briscoe Library will coordinate the production of a consumer-oriented educational video addressing the risks, prevention, and treatment of CA-MRSA (community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus). CA-MRSA is a significant health problem in the United States, particularly in the South and Southwest. A clear need for culturally appropriate educational materials about CA-MRSA, also known as “staph infection”, has been established through a recent study involving counties in South Texas.

Librarians will work with two CTSA-funded Pharm.D. content consultants, staff and interns at the South Central AHEC, and the university’s Video Production staff to develop the CA-MRSA video. The video will be made available to community-based health care clinics in South Texas and ultimately to wider audiences through the use of social media and submission for inclusion in MedlinePlus®, the online consumer-oriented health site produced by the National Library of Medicine (NLM).

For more information about the award or the video project, contact Peg Seger at segerp@uthscsa.edu.

National Public Health Week is April 4-11

National Public Health Week (NPHW) is April 4-10. This year’s theme is “Safety is NO Accident,” and the focus of the week will be on educating citizens about preventing injuries at home, at work, and in the community.

The American Public Health Association (APHA), organizer of NPHW, develops a national campaign to educate the public, policy-makers and practitioners about issues related to each year’s theme. APHA creates comprehensive planning, organizing and outreach materials that can be used to raise awareness.

The National Public Health Week Web site encourages assessment of home, workplace, and community spaces for easily-remedied hazards such as:

Maintaining fire alarms

Changing burnt-out light bulbs

Covering electrical outlets in homes with small children

Understanding national and state laws on workplace safety

Joining the neighborhood watch association.

The Libraries have created an exhibit showcasing the public health programs offered at the UT Health Science Center. The exhibit is currently on display outside the Briscoe Library on the Long Campus.

NCBI Insights: A new blog explains the work of the National Center for Biotechnology Information

NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information), one of the busiest websites produced by the United States Government, has released a new blog, NCBI Insights.NCBI Insights was created to share information about NCBI tools and resources, to explore issues in science that underpin NCBI’s resource development, and to provide instruction in how NCBI products can be used to enhance research.

New consumer website: NIH Clinical Research Trials and You

The National Institutes of Health has created a new website, NIH Clinical Research Trials and You (http://www.nih.gov/health/clinicaltrials/) to help people learn more about clinical trials, why they matter, and how to participate.

http://www.nih.gov/health/clinicaltrials/

Clinical trials are essential for identifying and understanding ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Research has shown that among the greatest challenges to recruitment of volunteers is the lack of general knowledge about what trials involve, where they are carried out, and who may participate.

Visitors to the website will find information about:

The basics of clinical trial participation

First hand experiences from actual clinical trial volunteers

Explanations from researchers

Links on how to search for a trial or enroll in a research matching program

In addition, health care professionals can read about evidence-based strategies for talking with patients about trials, print audience-tested posters to help promote trials in clinics and offices, and find other educational materials.

NIH supports clinical research trials across the country and throughout the world. NIH’s ongoing effort to raise awareness about clinical research and educate potential clinical trial participants about the option of a clinical trial is vital to developing public support and understanding for how clinical research drives medical discovery and improves health outcomes.

New library search features: Drop down search box

Librarians have been hard at work trying to find new ways to improve your experience with the UT Health Science Center Libraries website. Starting in January the library rolled out a new website with an improved search interface on the homepage. From a search box on the homepage, it is now possible to search PubMed, Google Scholar, E-Journals, E-Books, Print Materials, and Databases.

Not settling with a search of these features on just the library homepage, the library’s Web Team has enhanced searching capabilities by creating a dropdown in the top right corner of the library’s website. This search feature is now on every library web page, and allows a search of the library’s website, PubMed, Google Scholar, E-Journals, E-Books, Print Materials, and the University site.

The library Web Team is always looking for students, faculty, and staff to participate in usability testing for the libraries website. If you have not participated before, and would like to sign up, please contact Kelley Minars, Web Services Librarian, minars@uthscsa.edu.

New looks for the Web sites of the National Library of Medicine and the Department of Health and Human Services

In January, the National Library of Medicine® (NLM) released a newly designed main Web site (www.nlm.nih.gov). Among the features of the new design: a homepage featuring site-wide navigation in the header and easy access to NLM’s most-used resources such as PubMed/MEDLINE, MeSH (the database of medical subject headings), ClinicalTrials.gov, MedlinePlus, TOXNET, and all other NLM databases. The homepage also includes a “Share” feature that allows users to send content to friends, colleagues and themselves via social bookmarking and networking.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently unveiled its new 10-year goals and objectives for health promotion and disease prevention, Healthy People 2020. Details about the initiative can be found on the redesigned Healthy People Web site at www.healthypeople.gov.

New resources from the National Library of Medicine

MedlinePlus Connect links EHR users to consumer health information

The National Library of Medicine recently announced the debut of MedlinePlus Connect (http://medlineplus.gov/connect), a free service that allows electronic health record (EHR) systems to link users to MedlinePlus. MedlinePlus is an authoritative up-to-date health information resource for patients, families and health care providers, and delivers information about conditions and disorders, medications, and health and wellness. MedlinePlus has hundreds of health topic pages that bring together information from the National Institutes of Health, other US government agencies and authoritative health information providers.

The exhibition focuses on the dramatic 1872 change in the library’s mission. Founded in 1836 as the office library for the Army Surgeon General, the library came under the stewardship of Army Major John Shaw Billings in 1865. Seven years later, the library embarked on a venture to acquire the most complete set possible of medical books and journals. Billings and his work set the course for the library’s identity today as the world’s largest medical library.

The core of the exhibition is found in the stories, difficulties, and situations that Billings encountered as he began building a comprehensive collection as quickly and frugally as possible. The exhibition also shows the library’s early years, exploring the practical uses that the limited collection then supported.

The online exhibit includes a full bibliography of published materials by and about John Shaw Billings, including articles and pamphlets, reports, books and monographs, and speeches.

NLM offers History of Medicine volunteer internship program

The National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division in Bethesda, MD, welcomes applications for its volunteer internship program from undergraduate students in any discipline, current graduate students in library science or information studies, archival studies, cultural studies, film studies, history of medicine and science, museum studies, preservation, public heath, or related programs. The program is open to qualified individuals of any age and background who would wish to offer their experiences and skills.

For further information, visit the website of the National Library of Medicine: